MD Builder Must Pay $475K For Violating Accessibility Requirements

SILVER SPRING, MD — A Maryland-based developer agreed on Monday to pay $475,000 in damages to settle claims that it violated the Fair Housing and the Americans with Disabilities Acts for failing to build six multifamily housing complexes in Maryland with accessible features for people with disabilities, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Although the agreement still needs to be approved in court, Humphrey Stavrou Associates, Inc. and related entities agreed to remove accessibility barriers at three properties they own and three they sold to third parties.

The developer also agreed to pay $60,000 into a settlement fund in order to compensate people who were harmed by the inaccessible conditions at the properties. Improvements include replacing steeply-sloped walkways, widening doorways, and modifying bathrooms so they are accessible to people in wheelchairs. The developer will also be required to provide DOJ with periodic reports to ensure future multi-family housing construction meets ADA and FHA standards.

The complexes affected by the Humphrey Stavrou Associates, Inc. agreement include:

1. Pin Oak Village, Bowie, Maryland
2. Woodland Creek Apartments (formerly “Henson Creek Manor I and II Apartments”) Fort Washington, Maryland
3. Woodside Village Apartments, Fort Washington, Maryland
4. Acclaim at Lake Largo (formerly “Largo Center Apartments”), Largo, Maryland
5. Randolph Village Senior Apartments, Silver Spring, Maryland
6. Vistas at Lake Largo, Upper Marlboro, Maryland

This is the second recent lawsuit that the DOJ has resolved involving a Maryland developer who failed to comply with FHA and ADA accessibility requirements.

In September 2022, Stavrou Associates, Inc. and related entities agreed to pay $185,000 to settle claims that they did not include the necessary accessibility features on 11 multifamily housing complexes they built in Maryland, according to court documents. The developers signed a consent order on Nov. 22, 2022 in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland that they would remove barriers and retrofit the properties to meet FHA and ADA requirements.

“Developers who fail to abide by the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act will be held accountable,” said U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron, in a release. “These settlements will help ensure people with disabilities have fair and equal access to their homes by making these housing complexes more accessible.”

The 11 complexes built by Stavrou Associates, Inc. that are the subject of the previously entered consent decree are:

1. Villages at Belle Hill, Elkton, Maryland
2. Burgess Mill Station I, Ellicott City, Maryland
3. Burgess Mill Station II, Ellicott City, Maryland
4. River Point Apartments, Essex, Maryland
5. Hammarlee House Apartments, Glen Burnie, Maryland
6. Overland Gardens, Landover, Maryland
7. Rainier Manor Phase II Apartments, Mount Rainier, Maryland
8. Chapel Springs Senior Apartments, Perry Hall, Maryland
9. Hampshire Village, Silver Spring, Maryland
10. Windsor Crossing Family Apartments, Suitland, Maryland
11. Windsor Crossing Senior Apartments, Suitland, Maryland

The 17 total properties involved in the two lawsuits were constructed with financial assistance from the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program and the HOME Investment Partnerships Program. Some of the properties were specifically marketed as senior housing.